Not to put a damper on the bowling ball drop, but I am not sure that the bowling ball going at terminal velocity actually simulates the speed of a meteorite. A large meteorite that hits the atmosphere at 60,000 miles per hour would probably ionize all the gases in front of it reducing the air resistance and depending on the size of the object and its ability to transfer momentum to the atmosphere could still hit the earth at a speed in excess of several thousand miles per hour causing the equivalent of a small nuclear explosion. In New York a small meteorite hit the back of a car and drilled a hole right through the car and several feet into the ground. I expect it was traveling faster than the terminal velocity that would result from dropping it out of an airplane. Clear Skies Don Colton